The European Commission has granted regulatory clearance, under the Merger Regulation, to a proposed joint venture between Finnish food retailer Kesko and Scandinavian food retail group ICA AB.
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The joint venture will procure and sell groceries in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Although there are some overlaps in the activities of the two companies in Estonia and Latvia, the venture will face competition from other players in a market which is in full expansion and presents little barriers to entry, the Commission said.
Under a notification made to the Commission on 8 October, Kesko and ICA sought regulatory clearance for their plan to combine their respective businesses in the retail and procurement of daily consumer goods in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The joint venture will operate hypermarkets, food supermarkets and hard discount chains.
